St Johnstone duo depart on deadline night while Celtic shuffle pack

St Johnstone v Hibernian – Scottish Cup – Final – Hampden Park
(Image credit: Andrew Milligan)

St Johnstone lost two key members of their double-winning side when Jason Kerr and Ali McCann moved to England in a dramatic ending to transfer deadline night.

Captain Kerr, who led the Perth team to both the League Cup and the Scottish Cup last term, signed for League One side Wigan on a three-year deal while talismanic midfielder McCann was sold to Championship outfit Preston for a fee Saints claim could rise in excess of £1.75m – a club record received – with add-ons.

As the influential duo departed, three new faces arrived at McDiarmid Park, with 30-year-old former Hamilton midfielder Ali Crawford joining on loan from Bolton until January, 20-year-old Belgian defender Lars Dendoncker making a season-long loan switch from Brighton and midfielder Cammy MacPherson moving on loan from St Mirren.

There was also significant activity at Celtic where Joao Felipe Jota, Giorgos Giakoumakis and Cameron Carter-Vickers all checked in as three big names headed through the exit door.

Jota, a 22-year-old Portuguese winger, joined on a season-long loan from Benfica, with an option to buy, while Greece striker Giakoumakis arrived from Dutch side VVV-Venlo on a five-year contract. The 26-year-old finished top scorer in the Eredivisie last term with 26 goals despite his club getting relegated.

Carter-Vickers, a 23-year-old United States centre-back, joined on loan from Tottenham until the end of the season, also with an option to buy.

Odsonne Edouard – who scored 88 goals in four years at Parkhead – sealed his move to English Premier League club Crystal Palace on a four-year contract, while Ryan Christie joined Bournemouth on a three-year contract following six largely fruitful years in Glasgow’s east end.

Fellow Scotland international Leigh Griffiths moved to Dundee on loan until the end of the season. The 31-year-old has scored more than 100 goals for Celtic since joining from Wolves in January 2014 but has not featured this season under new manager Ange Postecoglou.

Rangers made no deadline-day additions but sent Swiss striker Cedric Itten to German side Greuther Furth and Croatian defender Nikola Katic to Hajduk Split on season-long loans.

Dundee United signed defender Scott McMann from Hamilton on a three-year deal. The 25-year-old is considered a natural replacement for left-back Jamie Robson, who was sold to Lincoln earlier in the day.

St Mirren recruited former Republic of Ireland Under-21 midfielder Connor Ronan on a season-long loan from Wolves.

Hibernian signed 19-year-old defender Nathan Wood on a season-long loan from Middlesbrough and 31-year-old goalkeeper David Mitchell from Clyde.

Across Edinburgh, Hearts confirmed the signing of Australian midfielder Cammy Devlin on a three-year contract from Newcastle Jets, while Romanian defender Mihai Popescu left Tynecastle to join cinch Championship side Hamilton on a season-long loan and winger Jordan Roberts was allowed to return to Motherwell until January.

The Fir Park club also sealed the signing of 26-year-old Norwegian defender Sondre Solholm Johansen on a three-year contract from Mjondalen.

Ross County signed forward Alex Samuel from English League One side Wycombe on a two-year deal while striker Oli Shaw left the Staggies to join Kilmarnock for an undisclosed fee.

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